The Ciccarelli Award was a concept I came up with when I was writing for the Backhand Shelf blog on The Score. Unfortunately, those blog posts have been lost forever, not even available on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
It鈥檚 a simple enough idea: we have the Calder Trophy for the Rookie of the Year in the regular season, so why not a companion for the Conn Smythe for the best rookie in the playoffs. Naming it for Dino Ciccarelli is a no-brainer, as he had one of the greatest rookie performances in the post-season of all time, scoring 14 goals in 19 games in 1981, a rookie record that still stands.
Plus, Dino Ciccarelli is .
So who should be the candidates for the Dino Ciccarelli Award in the 2017 playoffs? There are three clear frontrunners:
Jake Guentzel - PIT
Guentzel is the obvious leader in the race for the Ciccarelli Award. He has racked up 8 goals and 12 points in 9 games, placing him third in postseason scoring. Three of his goals have been gamewinners, including an .
You could counter that Guentzel has heavily benefited from playing on a line with Sidney Crosby and that is certainly true, but on Wednesday, with Crosby out of the lineup, Guentzel scored a goal and added an assist to help the Penguins to a 3-2 win. Frankly, if it wasn鈥檛 for his teammate Evgeni Malkin leading the playoffs in scoring, Guentzel might be in the conversation for the Conn Smythe.
Heck, by the end of the playoffs, he might be.
Shea Theodore - ANA
Up until Wednesday, Shea Theodore was the only other rookie scoring at a point-per-game pace. Unfortunately, he was held off the scoresheet against the Oilers. Honestly, .
The 21-year-old (and Langley native) played just 34 games for the Ducks this season, but scored 20 points in 26 AHL games. Even with that production, he didn鈥檛 get the call to the NHL until .
Now Theodore is tied for third in postseason scoring from defencemen, one point behind Erik Karlsson. With Cam Fowler, Sami Vatanen, and Kevin Bieksa all missing games with injuries, it鈥檚 been even more important for Theodore to step up.
Brady Skjei - NYR
Skjei has been outstanding for the Rangers in the playoffs and arguably should be playing a lot more than he is. His 4 goals are tied for second among rookies, which is particularly impressive for a defenceman.
He also leads all rookies in total ice time in the postseason and leads all Rangers defencemen in corsi-for percentage. His excellent play has even , one of the best American defencemen (and best Rangers defenceman) of all time.
The Rangers depend on his skating ability to turn the puck up ice and he鈥檚 a big part of why they got past the Canadiens in the first round.
Honorable Mentions:
Auston Matthews - TOR
4 goals in 6 games is nothing to scoff at, but that鈥檚 where he鈥檒l stay for the rest of the playoffs with the Leafs eliminated. Great debut for the 2016 first overall pick and a potential sign of things to come, but one award he鈥檒l never win in his career is the Dino Ciccarelli Award.
Charlie McAvoy - BOS
The rookie defenceman for the Bruins leads all rookies in ice time per game, averaging 26:11. Sure, that was bumped up by four overtime games against the Senators, but he was second only to Zdeno Chara in ice time for the Bruins. McAvoy also added 3 assists in 6 games, but won鈥檛 be able to improve his case for the Ciccarelli with the Bruins out of the playoffs. He鈥檒l have another chance next year as he enters his actual rookie season.
McAvoy鈥檚 last mention on this blog? When I suggested in the 2016 draft. C鈥檈st la vie.
Zach Werenski - CBJ
After a stellar rookie season that led to a top-three finish in Calder Trophy voting, Werenski looked poised for a great playoffs. He鈥檚 still second in ice time per game among rookies and he earned praise for in the first round, leading to John Tortorella memorably saying he had 鈥渂alls as big as the building.鈥� Apparently testicles are a necessary component for dealing with pain. I鈥檒l let the maternity ward at the hospital know.
Regrettably, that facial injury that knocked him out for the rest of the playoffs. That turned out to not be very long, as the Blue Jackets were knocked out in short order.
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Other rookies to keep an eye on as the playoffs progress, even if Guentzel looks impossible to catch:
Jimmy Vesey - NYR
Brandon Montour - ANA
Drake Caggiula - EDM
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